Shocked and Amazed!
Encyclopedia
In 1995, the opening year of its publication, James Taylor’s Shocked and Amazed! On & Off the Midway became the first journal to chronicle the history of sideshows, novelty and variety exhibition or “the show business” as it was called in the heyday of the dime museums. Focusing on circus and carnival sideshows and 19th Century dime museum
entertainment, the journal also follows the history and characters of vaudeville and burlesque, wax museums and world’s fairs, carnivals, circus spectacles, roadside attractions and everything in between. The journal features interviews with the business’ “golden age” performers as well as modern talent and has included original works by the likes of Teller (magician)
, John Strausbaugh and Frank DeFord and unique reprinted material available previously to only a few show business historians.
Shocked and Amazed! has been recognized as the leading journal on the business in such venues as The Learning Channel, The History Channel
, E!: Entertainment Television, Channel 4
in London, the National Geographic Channel
and major network television.
Shocked and Amazed! Volumes 1-9 were published by James Taylor's Dolphin-Moon Press
, while a “Best Of” Shocked and Amazed! was published in 2002 by Lyons/Globe Pequot, co-crediting James Taylor (author)
and Kathleen Kotcher.
Dime museum
Dime museums were institutions that were briefly popular at the end of the 19th century in the United States. Designed as centers for entertainment and moral education for the working class , the museums were distinctly different from upper-middle class' cultural events...
entertainment, the journal also follows the history and characters of vaudeville and burlesque, wax museums and world’s fairs, carnivals, circus spectacles, roadside attractions and everything in between. The journal features interviews with the business’ “golden age” performers as well as modern talent and has included original works by the likes of Teller (magician)
Teller (magician)
Teller is an American magician, illusionist, comedian, writer, and the frequently silent half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette. He legally changed his name from "Raymond Joseph Teller" to just "Teller"...
, John Strausbaugh and Frank DeFord and unique reprinted material available previously to only a few show business historians.
Shocked and Amazed! has been recognized as the leading journal on the business in such venues as The Learning Channel, The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
, E!: Entertainment Television, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in London, the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
and major network television.
Shocked and Amazed! Volumes 1-9 were published by James Taylor's Dolphin-Moon Press
Dolphin-Moon Press
Dolphin-Moon Press is a literary/fine arts press which has, since it was founded in 1973 by James Taylor , generated dozens of publications and art "objects" including books, records, poetry and art pamphlets, note cards, comic books and arts journals...
, while a “Best Of” Shocked and Amazed! was published in 2002 by Lyons/Globe Pequot, co-crediting James Taylor (author)
James Taylor (author)
James Taylor is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars and co-founded Dolphin-Moon Press in 1973, making it one of Baltimore’s oldest small press publishing houses...
and Kathleen Kotcher.